Last year, the day before Halloween, I spent the whole afternoon to finish my linguistic essay. Maybe because I stared at my computer monitor for a long time, I decided to lie down for a while. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was from my mother. I picked it up, and heard my mother’s crying. I worried and immediately asked her what happened. My mother said, “Ivy, please stay calm. Your grandpa just passed away.” I was stunned. I did not say a word. Actually, I did not even want to say a word. This silence was only lasted for 5 seconds. After that, I calmly comfort my mother and told her that everything would be fined. After I hang up with my mother, my tears just automatically fell down.
I was raised up by my grandpa. When I was young, my parents needed to go to work. It was my grandpa taking care of my sister and me. However, my grandpa needed to work from 9am to 5pm too. Therefore, every morning, my grandpa walked to schools with us, and then immediately went to work. Right after 5 pm, he rushed to our school to pick us up. Just by hearing this, it was so tough for my grandpa to work and take care 2 children every day. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with asthma. I needed to go to the clinic twice a week. Also, that clinic was only opened for weekdays. Therefore, every week, there were two days my grandpa needed to go to the clinic with me right after schools. It was so harsh. But, my grandpa did not ever complain. To him, it was his pleasure to take care and spend time with his granddaughters. Seven years ago, my family decided to immigrate to San Francisco. I still remembered the scene, where my family and I were about to go on the plane and my grandpa secretly swept his tears. We knew that he was sad that we were leaving, but he did not say a word, and just encourage my sister and me to study hard. Two years ago, my grandpa was diagnosed with liver cancer. He was so depressed that he did not even want to live anymore. However, with my family and my relatives’ support, he insisted and sought for treatments. He tried very hard, and suffered for a year. Finally, he passed away.
His whole life was just for working, and taking care my sister and me. When my sister and I were old enough to take care ourselves, he suffered with cancer. It just like that he did not even have time to rest and enjoy his life. It was so depressing. And if it was possible, I would really want to give my grandpa some time to enjoy his life, and not worry about us. But, things have already happen, and there is no way to change the past.
I still do not understand why I was so calm that day. I was sad too. I cried too. Maybe, at that time, I knew that if I cried over the phone, my parents would worry me too. So, instead, I chose to be the one that comfort them. Or maybe, I thought that my grandpa would not want us to feel sad for his death, but rather feel happy that he was finally release from the illness suffering.
Actually, my grandpa had a dream. He really wanted to attend my college graduation in the future. Although he would never see this ceremony physically, I would still try my best to make his dream comes true. Love you, grandpa!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
"What is my goal?"
“What is my goal?” is always one of the hot essay topics. I still remember that I had written this essay topic for several times, including in elementary school, middle school and high school. However, every time the goals I wrote were completely different.
When I was in 2nd grade, my goal was to become a cook. I really wanted to become a cook at that time. It was simply because that I thought a cook can eat and enjoy many kinds of food. When I was in 6th grade, I wanted to become a pilot. It was because I just finished a drama about pilots, and I was so jealous that pilots can travel to many different beautiful countries while they worked. Finally, when I was in 12th grade, my goals were simply to graduate from high school and attend good college.
It is so weird that as we grow up, we tend to have different goals and dreams. Also, the more we grow up, the more realistic our dreams become. In other words, as we get older, our dreams would not be something silly, but something we are eager to achieve. This really applied to me. When I was still little, my dreams tended to change so easily. It was changed just because I finished watching a drama or reading a book. And I did not even consider about different ways and possibility for me to achieve these goals. However, when I was a senior in high school, I really spent time to think about my goals and my future. Although my 12th grade’s goal was not something special, it was the first goal I really wanted to achieve it, as well as the goal my parents had for me.
Having goals are very important. It guides us. It is so natural for us to be lost and have confusion about our life, especially in the adolescence. For example, teenagers, such as the college students, tend to have a difficult time in deciding their majors. What they can do is to find their advisers. And then they should consider the advice, and decide on whether or not to follow the advice. Finally, they should take their decision, and set it as their goal. This way, if they were confused and worried about their future, they can just refer back to their goals, and stick with it. Without goals, we would be scared and worried about our life and future. It is just like how terrify it is for a little kid to go out alone, without knowing where to go. It is strongly encouraged that everyone should set their own goals. Perhaps the teachers see the importance in setting goal, they tend to use this same essay topic again and again.
Right now, being a sophomore in UC Davis, my goal is to maintain a good GPA, graduate, and find a stable job in the future. This goal sounds common, but it is my aim.
When I was in 2nd grade, my goal was to become a cook. I really wanted to become a cook at that time. It was simply because that I thought a cook can eat and enjoy many kinds of food. When I was in 6th grade, I wanted to become a pilot. It was because I just finished a drama about pilots, and I was so jealous that pilots can travel to many different beautiful countries while they worked. Finally, when I was in 12th grade, my goals were simply to graduate from high school and attend good college.
It is so weird that as we grow up, we tend to have different goals and dreams. Also, the more we grow up, the more realistic our dreams become. In other words, as we get older, our dreams would not be something silly, but something we are eager to achieve. This really applied to me. When I was still little, my dreams tended to change so easily. It was changed just because I finished watching a drama or reading a book. And I did not even consider about different ways and possibility for me to achieve these goals. However, when I was a senior in high school, I really spent time to think about my goals and my future. Although my 12th grade’s goal was not something special, it was the first goal I really wanted to achieve it, as well as the goal my parents had for me.
Having goals are very important. It guides us. It is so natural for us to be lost and have confusion about our life, especially in the adolescence. For example, teenagers, such as the college students, tend to have a difficult time in deciding their majors. What they can do is to find their advisers. And then they should consider the advice, and decide on whether or not to follow the advice. Finally, they should take their decision, and set it as their goal. This way, if they were confused and worried about their future, they can just refer back to their goals, and stick with it. Without goals, we would be scared and worried about our life and future. It is just like how terrify it is for a little kid to go out alone, without knowing where to go. It is strongly encouraged that everyone should set their own goals. Perhaps the teachers see the importance in setting goal, they tend to use this same essay topic again and again.
Right now, being a sophomore in UC Davis, my goal is to maintain a good GPA, graduate, and find a stable job in the future. This goal sounds common, but it is my aim.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Miss you!
When I was shopping in Hong Kong in the summer of 2008, suddenly, I have an unknown incoming call. I knew that call must be coming from San Francisco, either by my mother or my sister. Surprisingly, it was not. It was called from my old middle school friend—Connie. Connie is the first friend I met in the US. We went to different high schools and colleges, so we did not hang out together that much. She called me and told me that she was pregnant. I was shocked that I dropped one of my shopping bags on the floor. She also told me that her boyfriend is definitely responsible and they will get married soon. I did not know what to say. I just congratulated her.
Last month, I was invited to the celebration of her baby’s full month. Right after I stepped in the restaurant, Connie saw me. She immediately carried her baby to my hands, and took picture with me. Her baby was so cute and adorable. Also, Connie was so happy that she finally became one’s mother. Unfortunately, last week, one of my friends told me that Connie broke up with her husband and she goes to clubbing every night. I was surprised, and immediately sent message to her. From then, Connie never replies me back. I try to call her, but she does not pick up. I am frustrated and worried, especially for her baby. If Connie went to clubbing every night, then who is taking care of the baby? It is so common to see a couple falling in love, breaking up and falling in love with someone else. However, when it comes to the decision of getting married or having baby, it is completely different. We really need to take time to consider, and make the best decision. These decisions are significantly serious and it is difficult for us to make it up once we make the move. For example, if a girl falls in love with a boy, but thinks this boy is not right for her, she can break up with him, and find another boy. However, if a girl got married and have a baby, the girl can break up with her husband, but what about the baby? Both of them need to be responsible for the baby, and might have to fight for the baby’s custody. Some people might say that teenagers are not mature enough to make decision, so it is forgivable if teenagers made mistakes. To me, it is definitely not forgivable. Whatever we choose, we need to take responsibility. If not, who is going to take responsibility for us? NOBODY! Age is definitely not an excuse. Therefore, it is best for us to consider carefully and then make the best decision.
Connie, if things have already happened, then there is no need to blame yourself. But keep in mind that it is always better to consider over before making any decisions. Be positive! And bless you!
Last month, I was invited to the celebration of her baby’s full month. Right after I stepped in the restaurant, Connie saw me. She immediately carried her baby to my hands, and took picture with me. Her baby was so cute and adorable. Also, Connie was so happy that she finally became one’s mother. Unfortunately, last week, one of my friends told me that Connie broke up with her husband and she goes to clubbing every night. I was surprised, and immediately sent message to her. From then, Connie never replies me back. I try to call her, but she does not pick up. I am frustrated and worried, especially for her baby. If Connie went to clubbing every night, then who is taking care of the baby? It is so common to see a couple falling in love, breaking up and falling in love with someone else. However, when it comes to the decision of getting married or having baby, it is completely different. We really need to take time to consider, and make the best decision. These decisions are significantly serious and it is difficult for us to make it up once we make the move. For example, if a girl falls in love with a boy, but thinks this boy is not right for her, she can break up with him, and find another boy. However, if a girl got married and have a baby, the girl can break up with her husband, but what about the baby? Both of them need to be responsible for the baby, and might have to fight for the baby’s custody. Some people might say that teenagers are not mature enough to make decision, so it is forgivable if teenagers made mistakes. To me, it is definitely not forgivable. Whatever we choose, we need to take responsibility. If not, who is going to take responsibility for us? NOBODY! Age is definitely not an excuse. Therefore, it is best for us to consider carefully and then make the best decision.
Connie, if things have already happened, then there is no need to blame yourself. But keep in mind that it is always better to consider over before making any decisions. Be positive! And bless you!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
"unlimited wants"!
Yesterday, I spent most of the time to read my economic book. It was just because I needed to prepare for an upcoming econ midterm. However, during my studying, I found some impressive information from the book. Generally, the economy always experience in scarcity. In other words, human’s material wants are unlimited, so there seems to have no way to satisfy them. This is not surprising. It is absolutely common and true in real life. However, this attitude is not right, and we should find ways to change this attitude.
Just by listening to this fact, I felt depressed. Isn’t it sad that there is no way for us to be satisfied on our current living conditions? And it is not because of others’ fault, but because of our unlimited wants. We can see this scenario often in our daily lives. For example, if a person gambles and receives a lot of money from it, that person would probably gamble again, thinking that he might win again; if a child just finishes one ice-cream, that child would probably urge and ask for one more ice-cream. As time goes by, our “unlimited wants” would become a negative harm to us. If we keep chasing for more materials, we would end up being ignorant. We would be ignorant because we never know whether we buy enough materials or not. For instance, originally, we only need one hair clip, but we want to become prettier and fashionable, we end up buying more hair clips. We lose our judgments, especially on how many necessities we really need. Isn’t it so sad that people do not know what they really need for their lives? And buying unnecessary stuff?
Everyone have unlimited wants, and I’m one of them. If that same “hair clips” scenario applies to me, I would buy 2 or more hair clips too. It is weird that there is some magic telling us to buy more and more. Because of this weird magic, some people might create many credit cards in order to buy and pay for more. As a result, some teenagers might end up with many credit cards debts and they are not able to pay for their debts. While we are wasting money to buy some unnecessary materials, we should step back and think of some poor countries. In those countries, people do not have enough money for their living and necessities. They might end up eating one meal or even one bread per day. Comparing to their situation to ours, we should be very appreciated for what we have. We should be satisfied on what we already have and not waste more money on buying unnecessary items. Instead, we could find ways to help them out, such as donating or volunteering. Having “material wants” is not bad; however, the worst part is that our “material wants” are unlimited. There is no way for us to be satisfied. But, we really need to learn to be appreciated and satisfied on what we already have.
Just by listening to this fact, I felt depressed. Isn’t it sad that there is no way for us to be satisfied on our current living conditions? And it is not because of others’ fault, but because of our unlimited wants. We can see this scenario often in our daily lives. For example, if a person gambles and receives a lot of money from it, that person would probably gamble again, thinking that he might win again; if a child just finishes one ice-cream, that child would probably urge and ask for one more ice-cream. As time goes by, our “unlimited wants” would become a negative harm to us. If we keep chasing for more materials, we would end up being ignorant. We would be ignorant because we never know whether we buy enough materials or not. For instance, originally, we only need one hair clip, but we want to become prettier and fashionable, we end up buying more hair clips. We lose our judgments, especially on how many necessities we really need. Isn’t it so sad that people do not know what they really need for their lives? And buying unnecessary stuff?
Everyone have unlimited wants, and I’m one of them. If that same “hair clips” scenario applies to me, I would buy 2 or more hair clips too. It is weird that there is some magic telling us to buy more and more. Because of this weird magic, some people might create many credit cards in order to buy and pay for more. As a result, some teenagers might end up with many credit cards debts and they are not able to pay for their debts. While we are wasting money to buy some unnecessary materials, we should step back and think of some poor countries. In those countries, people do not have enough money for their living and necessities. They might end up eating one meal or even one bread per day. Comparing to their situation to ours, we should be very appreciated for what we have. We should be satisfied on what we already have and not waste more money on buying unnecessary items. Instead, we could find ways to help them out, such as donating or volunteering. Having “material wants” is not bad; however, the worst part is that our “material wants” are unlimited. There is no way for us to be satisfied. But, we really need to learn to be appreciated and satisfied on what we already have.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
magical feeling!!
Recently, I read an interesting book called "Escape to Japan", which is written by one of the famous Taiwanese singers, Ashin. In this book, Ashin introduced different places in Japan and shared his feelings or inspirations after he visited every place. I really enjoy reading on his inspirations, because it allows me to understand how other people think about that topic, and make me to think about it more deeply. Particularly, I was very impressed on the one after he visited the Meiji Shrine.
Before reaching to the Meiji Shrine, people need to walk on a pathway, which is made by the small rocks. Therefore, when a group of people walk this pathway, they would feel frustrated of the annoyed noise the small rocks cause. Surprisingly, people only feel frustrated for few minutes, and start to walk carefully. At that moment, Ashin felt so magical that within that few minutes, people can change their feelings from frustrating to concentrating. He started to wonder about how magical a space could change people behavior.
After reading this article, I feel so magical too. And I strongly agree that an environment can influence us. For example, when I sit in my room, with my computer turning on, it is difficult for me to do my homework. Conversely, when I sit at the library, with other students studying, it is easy for me to concentrate and do my homework. There is just a magic force that could easily influence us when we are in different environment. Last Monday, I and two of my housemate decided to finish our homework by staying up the whole night together. Three of us brought our homework to the dining table and sat together. Surprisingly, three of us did not sleep, but concentrated to finish our homework. Here, it has the magic force too. It might be because my housemates worked very hard on their homework, so I needed to work hard too. But, if there is only me staying up the whole night, I think I would give up and go to bed right away. Since environments can easily affect how people behave, it is really important for us, the students, to choose an appropriate area to study, such as studying lounge and library. Otherwise, we would not be able to finish our homework on time. Therefore, based on my observations and experiences, I have the same magical feelings as Ashin had.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
1st Blog- "Who am i as a writer? as a thinker?"
I strongly agree that the ways we think are easily influenced by our environments and experiences. Typically, when we were young, we tended to listen and follow what our parents believe and think. As we grew up, we tended to share our thoughts with friends, and then learn from each other. Also, different experiences, especially the past ones, tended to affect how we live, act and think right now. To me, when it comes with an essay topic, other than my own opinions, i would love to ask how others think about it, including my parents and my friends. Maybe, it sounds a little bite weird, since I do not just stick with my ideas. However, i think it is better for me to ask others for opinions, and try to understand why people could think different than i think. Finally, i would go back to my thoughts, and fix any flaws from it. Therefore, my thinking might ultimately influence by my parents and friends.
A lot of people like to write their daily lives in diary or blogs. To me, i just think there is nothing i can really share with people, because i just sleep, eat, and use computer everyday. However, i really love to write after i read a novel, watch a movie or hear a song. Usually, i write about my feelings about these works, including what do i learn from them. To me, novels, movies and songs all have themes and messages behind them. Other than be entertained by these works, i think it is really important for us to understand the messages. And once we understand them, it is our pleasure to share with others, like friends or parents. With this thought held in mind, i tend to love writing more and more.
A lot of people like to write their daily lives in diary or blogs. To me, i just think there is nothing i can really share with people, because i just sleep, eat, and use computer everyday. However, i really love to write after i read a novel, watch a movie or hear a song. Usually, i write about my feelings about these works, including what do i learn from them. To me, novels, movies and songs all have themes and messages behind them. Other than be entertained by these works, i think it is really important for us to understand the messages. And once we understand them, it is our pleasure to share with others, like friends or parents. With this thought held in mind, i tend to love writing more and more.
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